Black Fast – Spectre of Ruin

Black Fast’s mission is simple: play fast, destructive, and heavy metal. Spectre of Ruin is a sneaky pick for best heavy metal album of 2018. Black Fast can best be described as thrash metal and the album art provides a pretty accurate description of what to expect. The sky is blackened by a ghastly spectre and an evil army hovers over a desolate landscape littered with skeletons. You can almost hear the shrieks and war drums in the distance. You can feel the presence of the dark spectre as the album starts off with Cloak of Ruin. If you don’t break out an air guitar during the last 60 seconds of this song, maybe metal isn’t for you. There is no shoegaze. There are no soaring melodies. There are no clean vocals; only speedy guitars and aggressive rhythms. Phantom I Am is an excellent track filled with killer riffs and vocals that will give you a sore throat by proxy. Famine Angel is filled with enough guitar solos to make you start windmilling your hair while you’re home alone. It’s one of those hidden gems you find on every album that no one seems to talk about. Spectre of Ruin ends with two really great tracks, Crescent Angel and Husk. Husk is the best track off the album and you quickly find yourself singing along…”unholy spectre, can this be the end?”